1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for assisting physically disabled persons to and from a position for using a toilet.
2. Description of The Related Art
Conventional toilet seats are characteristically low to the ground making it very difficult for physically disabled or illness-weakened persons to use the toilet without the assistance of a nurse or other individual. Elevated toilet seats or toilet seat lifts that remain horizontal partially solve this problem by reducing the period of time that a person""s arm and leg muscles are stressed when moving between a standing position and a sitting position on a toilet bowl. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,168,552 and 5,027,446, for example, disclose toilet seat lifts that simply elevate the toilet seat. The ""552 patent describes an adjustable toilet seat that is elevated by screw jacks driven by an electric motor through a drive belt and pulley system. The ""446 patent discloses a mechanism for raising and lowering a toilet seat via two hydraulic cylinders. The toilet seat for these apparatus always remains horizontal to floor.
Elderly or physically disabled persons, however, may not be able to withstand even this reduced amount of stress encountered when attempting to sit on the raised, but still horizontal, toilet seat. Thus, toilet seats have been developed that both elevate and tilt the toilet seat such that the rear portion of the seat is vertically higher than the front portion. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,617 discloses an apparatus for raising and lowering a toilet seat. As this toilet seat lift rises, it assumes an orientation that is tilted thus facilitating the mounting and dismounting of the user. Other toilet seat lifts tilt the seat and move the seat forward of the toilet base for transferring the weight of the user such that it is approximately above their feet. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,581,778, 4,833,736, 4,993,085 and 5,142,709 disclose such toilet seat lifts. Transferring the user""s weight forward is undesirable for persons with limited control of their leg muscles and may cause these person to become unbalanced. Further, these tilting toilet seats either do not provide arm rests or the arm rests tilt along with the seat lift. This is undesirable for the user""s who need a substantially horizontal arm-support surface to support themselves as they are moving to a self-supported or assisted standing position.
These toilet seat lifts also do not accommodate users of varying height and girth. A short, thin elderly woman has different lift height requirements and arm rest requirements than an obese, tall male. The toilet seat lifts hereinbefore described do not adequately address these differing height requirements.
In view of the above-described problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for assisting a physically disabled person to and from a seated position immediately above a toilet bowl that requires a minimum floor space and can be easily moved from one toilet to another. It is a further object to provide an apparatus that is not permanently mounted to the floor for safe operation.
It is a further object to provide an apparatus that provides easily accessible control for the user, is easy to operate and accommodates individuals virtually any size.
These objects, as well as other objects and advantages are achieved by an apparatus for moving a toilet seat between a lowered position adjacent a toilet bowl and a raised, tilted position above the toilet bowl to assist a physically disabled person between an upright position and a seating position for using a toilet. The apparatus includes a toilet seat having a passageway therethrough, a support structure positioned about a base portion of a toilet bowl, a linkage mechanism attached to the support structure for raising the toilet seat directly above the toilet bowl and for tilting the toilet seat such that the rear portion of the toilet seat assumes a vertically higher position than a front portion of the toilet seat, and a power mechanism for urging the toilet seat between the lowered position and the raised, tilted position.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of this specification and wherein are set forth exemplary embodiments of the present invention to illustrate various objects and features thereof.